Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Toronto-Dominion CEO says his bank could be on pace to top internal profit targets this year, after a resounding beat in the first quarter. Double-digit growth in TD's Canadian and U.S. retail banking powered the bottom line in Q1. And the quarterly payout is going up to 67 cents per share. It's an exclamation mark on an earnings season that's seen a steady stream of profit beats from Canada's Bix Six. 

ALBERTA’S SHRINKING DEFICIT

Alberta's deficit is tracking toward $9.1 billion this year, down from the $10.3 billion forecast a few months ago, thanks to higher resource revenue and the removal of a $500-million risk adjustment from its books. Despite the brighter outlook, the province isn't hiding from the pain caused by pipeline woes. Yesterday's third-quarter fiscal update includes several references to bottlenecks and the WCS discount. Finance Minister Joe Ceci dodged BNN's question about the fiscal hit if the Trans Mountain saga drags on, only pointing out "this whole country will suffer" if we don't build any pipelines to tidewater. See the full interview here. 

OIL PATCH EARNINGS

Some big ones to sift through this morning. Canadian Natural Resources was first to report, with fourth-quarter production surging thanks in part to the assets it picked up from Shell earlier this year, and the dividend is going up to 33.5 cents per share. BNN's Jameson Berkow will make this a story of M&A integration. Husky Energy, meanwhile is looking to recover from recent operational missteps (hello, iceberg management, among other incidents), with fourth-quarter funds from operations nearly doubling at $1.04 billion. The company also brought back a dividend at 7.5 cents per share. And Crescent Point Energy says it beat production targets with output hitting 178,975 boe/day in the fourth quarter.   

YOUNG CANADIANS PILING ON DEBT

A new report from TransUnion shows young Canadians really love debt. Average non-mortgage debt among Generation Z surged 22.9 per cent y/y in the fourth quarter, with Millennials next in the queue at 12.6 per cent growth. Gen Z (those born from 1995 onward) is also showing its inexperience managing debt, with delinquencies jumping almost half a percentage point.

CLOSING THE BOOK ON FEBRUARY

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.3 per cent last month, with just four of its members posting positive returns amid inflation fears and the prospect of Jerome Powell moving more aggressively on monetary policy. TSX didn’t fare much better, with a 3.2 per cent slide in February.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:

-It’s deadline day to make an RRSP contribution for the 2017 tax year. See highlights from BNN’s Your Money Month special coverage here. 

-Bloomberg is reporting U.S. President Donald Trump will confirm his decision on steel and aluminum import tariffs today.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable earnings: Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Natural Resources, Husky Energy, Vermilion Energy, Crescent Point Energy, Calfrac Well Service, Martinrea, Sleep Country Canada, TransAlta, Cascades, Cott, Gap, Best Buy

-Notable data: Canadian current account balance, U.S. personal income and spending, ISM U.S. manufacturing index, U.S. construction spending

-7:00 a.m. ET: Bill Morneau delivers speech to Canadian Club in Toronto

-11:30 a.m. ET: BMO, Cadillac Fairview announce plan to revitalize commercial real estate space in Toronto (NOTE: Bloomberg is citing a report that BMO will take over Sears’ space in the Eaton Centre)

-9:00 a.m. ET: CSX holds investor and analyst meeting in New York

-10:00 a.m. ET: Jerome Powell testifies before U.S. Senate Banking Committee

-12:00 p.m. ET: Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton delivers speech to Economic Club in Toronto

-Seventh round of NAFTA negotiations continues in Mexico City (to March 5)

Editor’s note: An earlier version of today’s Daily Chase included incorrect information about TD’s dividend. BNN regrets the error.